Mayank Agarwal, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opening batter, continues to struggle in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). On Sunday, March 30, he was removed after hitting 16 runs off 17 deliveries against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Mayank Agarwal had began the innings with the in-form Travis Head, but he was unable to take advantage of the fielding limits. The hitter struggled with timing and placement, scoring only two boundaries, one of which came on a misfield.
Head began the innings on a positive note, scoring successive boundaries. However, the aggressive opening was starved of strikes, while Mayank unable to capitalize, and he died with a strike rate of less than 100.
Opening batsman Mayank Agarwal fell victim to a bouncer for the third straight match. He attempted a pull shot against Azmatullah Omarzai’s short delivery in the fifth over. However, the stroke lacked power, and Darshan Nalkande took a simple catch at deep square leg.
Fans were dissatisfied with Mayank’s approach on a surface that didn’t provide much for the bowlers. There was a case for him to at least take up the strike to Head if he couldn’t execute the big blows.
Here are some reactions on Twitter:
Mayank Agarwal Registers Only 59 Runs in Three IPL 2024 Matches
The opener, who had a topsy-turvy Ranji season, started the season with a quickfire 32-run knock in the run chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens.
He was dismissed for 11 runs in SRH’s season-opening home game against the Mumbai Indians (MI). SRH scored the highest IPL total of 277, but Agarwal was the only batter who could not establish himself in the game.
SRH were at 34/1 in the fifth over, but the entrance of the in-form Abhishek Sharma boosted the scoring rate. The left-handed hitter faced Rashid Khan as SRH completed the powerplay with a respectable total of 56 runs.
However, GT came back with Travis Head’s wicket shortly after the powerplay, and the score is 64/2 after eight overs as of writing.